QBU? Ohio State Ranked Among Best Program For QBs Since 2000

The Ohio State Buckeyes have had three-consecutive starting quarterbacks get selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

You think of the great college quarterback schools of this millennium, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State come to mind.

The USC Trojans are now starting to make waves and will likely continue to with head coach Lincoln Riley at the helm who helped develop some of the great Sooners quarterbacks. It's easy to point the finger at Alabama having great quarterbacks because, in this high octane, air-it-out era of college football, good play under center is necessary for their Football Bowl Subdivision-best six national championships since 2009.

Ohio State's signal-callers catch a lot of heat for their lack of success at the NFL level, but the Buckeyes are tied with the Crimson Tide for the second-most players on ESPN's top 75-quarterbacks since 2000 list with four.

It makes sense, as the Buckeyes' 246 wins are the most by any FBS team since 2000. The four players who played a huge factor in those wins are: No. 20 C.J. Stroud, No. 29 Justin Fields, No. 33 Troy Smith and No. 66 J.T. Barrett.

"[Stroud] didn't have the longest career, but in 25 games he topped 300 yards 15 times, topped 400 yards five times, completed at least 70 percent of his passes 10 times and threw multiple INTs just twice," ESPN wrote. "He was the best player on the field in his final game, a CFP near upset of Georgia."

Stroud needed two seasons as a starter to throw for 8,123 yards and 85 touchdowns — both are second in program history — throwing 12 interceptions.

Fields transferred from Georgia ahead of the 2019 season. On his first drive, he introduced himself to Columbus kindly: a 5-yard completion to Jeremy Ruckert then, three plays later, a 51-yard touchdown run.

Fields is arguably the most athletically gifted quarterbacks in Buckeyes history, completing 68 percent of his passes for 5,701 yards, 67 touchdowns and rushing for 1,133 yards and 19 touchdowns.

"Thanks to the abbreviated 2020 season, Fields was a collegiate starter for basically 1.5 years," Connelly said. "In that time he proved startlingly accurate and dynamic, leading Ohio State to two CFP bids, one national title game and only two losses."

Smith didn't have the most eye-popping statistics with just over 3,000 passing yards in his first 19 games, but his final season with the Buckeyes was where he showed out.

Smith completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,542 yards and 30 touchdowns to only six interceptions, including a 316-yard and four-touchdown performance against Michigan.

"Ohio State went wire-to-wire in the 2006 regular season, and while Smith wasn't asked to do much in blowouts, he came through big-time when required and won the Heisman by more than 1,600 points," ESPN wrote. "Of course, this would have all mattered more had Smith and the Buckeyes not gotten absolutely humiliated by Florida in the national title game. That'll knock down your ranking a bit."

Barrett wasn't the most flashy or even the most skilled with the ball in his hand. However, he was the best winner.

He owns program records with 9,434 yards and 104 touchdowns, adding 3,263 yards and 43 scores on the ground.

He was responsible for two of the most electric wins in recent Ohio State history: a double-overtime victory against the Wolverines in 2016 and a fourth-quarter comeback against Penn State in 2017.

"He broke the Big Ten record for most passing TDs and total TDs, won 38 games in 3.5 seasons as a starter, and, perhaps most importantly, went 4-0 against Michigan," ESPN wrote.

The Buckeyes could have a fifth player on this list had Dwayne Haskins started more than just one season in college, putting together the greatest single season under center in Big Ten history.

He has single-season conference records with 4,831 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in 2018, leading Ohio State to a Rose Bowl victory against Washington.

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